The Arizona Cardinals possess an offense with significant upside heading into the new season. This creates several intriguing options and potential league-winners for your fantasy football roster. Here is a breakdown of the key offensive weapons and what to expect from them this year.
Kyler Murray, QB
Update: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday morning that Kyler Murray was a surprise addition to the injury report with an illness. However, he will play today against the Saints.
Cardinals are adding QB Kyler Murray to the injury report this morning due to an illness, but he’ll have no game-status designation and he will start vs. the Saints. pic.twitter.com/fCbnQt0i6R
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 7, 2025
Murray is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he will play.
Down the stretch of last season, we saw a bit of what makes Kyler Murray an intoxicating option annually.
- Week 15 vs. Patriots: Completed 23-of-30 passes
- Week 16 at Panthers: 12.3 points as a runner
- Week 17 at Rams: 52 scoring opportunities (pass + rush attempts)
- Week 18 vs. 49ers: Four touchdown passes
Every puzzle piece is on the board: can he complete the beautiful design? It’s certainly possible, and on a fast track against an awful defense with maybe the best young pass-catching duo in the league, we could see signs of an elite profile come together as soon as Week 1.
The range of outcomes is there, and that can be a worry, but Murray is my sleeper QB to lead the position in scoring through the first month of the season (opponents: Saints, Panthers, 49ers, and Seahawks).
Would that make him a sell high? Would that make him a league-winner who proves impossible to defend?
In the world of flip-flops are you more of a @_GDortch or @CalaisCampbell 🤨🩴 pic.twitter.com/YWmrP5QQAG
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 2, 2025
We can cross that bridge when/if we get to it (Falcons/Bengals in Weeks 16-17 has me taking the more optimistic side regarding long-term projecting). Still, you’re playing him without a thought in Week 1, and he’s a high-priority DFS play on a main slate that doesn’t have Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, or Josh Allen on it to open the season.
James Conner, RB
James Conner enters his age-30 season carrying more than 1,600 career touches. While he’s clearly approaching a meeting with Father Time, the signs haven’t surfaced yet. That makes him a comfortable fantasy starter this week, particularly in a matchup where his Arizona Cardinals are favored against the Saints’ eighth-worst goal-to-go defense from 2024.
The veteran running back has exceeded expectations in five of the past six seasons, largely because he’s cleared 35 red zone touches in three of the past four campaigns. He’s staying healthy and earning valuable work near the end zone, leaving little room for complaint from fantasy managers.
READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 1 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Analysis for Every Player in Every Game
Since 2023, Conner joins exclusive company as one of only four running backs with 10 or more games of 100 rushing yards. Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Kyren Williams complete that group. While he probably won’t emerge as a league winner this season, Conner has earned the label of weekly stabilizer until proven otherwise.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR
My dad used to let me beat him in one-on-one basketball. I’d storm out to a big lead and get confident before he decided to establish his dominance.
He could have crushed my dreams early; the “loss” result wouldn’t have been any different, but he fueled my competitive drive by having his foot off the gas early, and I was better long-term for it.
MARVIN HARRISON JR. AGAIN ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! 🤯
2 CATCHES. 2 TDS. 😳
(via @AZCardinals)
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 15, 2024
Do you care about your fantasy analyst’s one-on-one record as a pre-teen against his pops? Probably not. But isn’t that a version of what we saw from Marvin Harrison Jr. last season?
OK, so it’s not the same, but he proved that his skill set had something to offer early, and his professional defenses adapted as the reps wore on.
- First quarter: 4.94 PPG, 52.8% over expectation
- Quarters 2-4: 6.62 PPG, 18.1% below expectation
He excelled on the scripted stuff and struggled to sustain high-end production in his first exposure to playing against grown men. It happens.
As goofy as that stat is, I’m encouraged by it. Arizona didn’t succeed at elevating their franchise receiver for 60 minutes, but there was a definitive pocket where this Kyler Murray/Harrison tandem flashed.
Will he explode in 2025? It’s possible. At the very least, I expect Week 1 to be to 2025 what Quarter 1 was to 2024. The Saints allowed a league-high 26 completions that gained 30+ yards last season (seven touchdowns), and we know that Harrison has explosiveness in his profile.
Harrison’s ADP was 2+ rounds lower this summer than last, and coming out of the season opener, I expect the question, “Did we have his draft day price right last year?” to be a common narrative.
Trey McBride, TE
The only debate here is if Trey McBride can wear the TE crown this season. He’s clearly a game-changer at the position, and he was drafted as such. You should feel great about counting on him for elite weekly volume.
What more can you ask for?
McBride was the only tight end with 12 games of 5+ catches in 2024, a nod to a floor that is second to none. To help you understand how rare that level of consistency is, wrap your head around this fact: Zach Ertz and Sam LaPorta, a pair of perfectly viable TEs last season, combined for 11 games with at least five receptions.
I have McBride ranked as my TE1 this week and am very much considering going that direction in DFS. That’s not a knock on Bowers, but he does have to navigate a situation that has changed significantly while the Cardinals are essentially running back their 2024 offense.
